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User blog:Moritzva/Consortium Ep. 2: One Flew Over
"...And then he started tensing up and fumbling about wanting to go get you to revive someone, Will." The carriage came to a sudden stop, a small creak resounding from one of the wheels as the slightly dark-skinned Naguib took a careful step off the edge, the blades of grass brushing against the soles of his finely woven leather boots. A light breeze caressed him as he turned to the disharmonious stream of groans from the carriage. A soft squeal came from the rickety wheel as a young, petite child hopped from the ledge down to the ground, arms tightly clutching a staff in his hands. Off-balance, he stumbled forward, using the magical stick as a balance to keep him upright. "But I don't even know revival magic..." He said in response in a soft yet rather clear-spoken voice. One lean woman with a belt of a million knives took a swift yet long leap off the edge, landing in a small uprest of dust, before rising to stand tall next to him. "...Weird." She grumbled out a simple answer, an emotionless expression on her pretty yet unsmiling face. With one hand, she reached up and badly combed her short, slightly curly black hair. "To be quite frank, it spooked me out. So, I denied him. Do you two think I made the right decision?" Naguib inquired, gazing back at the young mage and deadpan mercenary before turning back towards the road, as if expecting someone. "Well, it's a bit unexpected and creepy, in my opinion. I don't know how to describe it... Maybe Ambra can say more about it-" "You clearly made the right decision. He was a psycho." She piped in with more of a blunt insult than a compliment, rolling her eyes. "Where's Durk?" Ambra continued, kicking at some dirt as she crossed her arms and kept to herself, as if there was an invisible box separating her from the world, exactly how she liked it. "I told him to be here already. I don't want to be late! If we don't leave in... five minutes, we'll be at risk of arriving at our destination off time!" Naguib groaned, pacing back and forth across the dirt road, the thick forestry overlooking The Holy Stone Guild from either side. "And if we arrive at the wrong time, we'll just be begging for a dysfunctional sleep schedule, followed by-" "Gotta stop 'ye right there, lad!" A short and stocky man suddenly burst from behind the group, his head poking out and leaving scraps of dirt and grit dropping down from his unreasonably messy and long hair. Naguib stumbled back a bit, while Will let out a small yelp. Ambra merely blinked slowly. "I got no time 'ta listen to 'yer rantin'! Let's get 'tis on ta road!" The druid of Al'Kira got up, forcing himself through the rocks and earth, carrying a sizable bag that clinged and clanged of metal. "I got 'yer weapons." "...Good timing. Put it in the back, Durk. We may not have a fifth person, but I think we'll be fine. Better that than inviting that other guy, though. He probably would of gotten us murdered. I wish we could of gotten someone competent, though." With a nod, the strong and stout Durk took the bag and flung it behind him, into the mass of containers and crates. The weaponry collided with one barrel, causing it to spin around a few times, before tumbling right off the cart. As it landed on the hard ground, the lid popped off. Where they expected sugar, wine, or equipment, instead a man in a white coat toppled out and onto the grass with an uurf. The guild let out many words of confusion as he coughed and wheezed a few times, before glaring up and at Naguib, speaking in a strained voice. "It seems we're both going to be disappointed by our wishes, Naguib, since I was wishing you wouldn't be a total ass about that interview." The air was thick with tension and blades. Surrounding the intruder was the entire guild; Ambra in position to strike with her flurry of knives and blades, Durk with a plethora of runes and aburations on hold around his staff, Will having unloaded every defensive enchantment he knew of onto his comrades, and Naguib, broadsword in hand. The lone Valev stood with defiance. Feet dug into the soft, gritty dirt, branches crunching underneath. "Sheesh, what kind of welcome is this?" He mumbled, not even drawing his weapon. He had no intentions of actually fighting them. "Leave, Valev. You aren't on the team, and hiding yourself in a barrel isn't going to change that." Naguib affirmed, thrusting his sword outwards as a threat, pointing it at the somewhat well-dressed spellblade. Valev groaned for a moment, planting his face into the palm of his hand. "Give me some slack. Do you know how hard it was for me to roll an entire barrel into your cart from inside the barrel?" Valev exclaimed, pouting in disappointment. "I kinda like this guy." Ambra commented with a smirk, chuckling a tad at his nonchalant treatment of his perilous situation. "See, she gets it! Let me prove myself, and I promise you won't regret it." He responded in tandem, his quick words escaping his smiling mouth in a near-desperate plea. It was impossible to tell if he was weeping a sea of crocodile tears or if he was just very, very dense. “Valev, no. You aren’t joining the team.” Naguib affirmed as if he was talking with a small, defiant child who was begging and pleading for a flashy new action figure from a nearby toy store, while his own tone was that of a disgruntled parent with the color drained from his hair out of raw stress, voice croaking as he groaned back another ”For the last time, no!” to the five year old in the back of the van. "Give me one, just one, reason why not." Valev huffed and crossed his arms in defiance. "Let's see 'ere. Ya' replaced a barrel of our supplies, snuck onto our ship, and ya' want to be alone with the 'lil boy on the team." Durk piped up with a frown, grass rustling behind him. Will stumbled a bit and took a step back, fear taking over his face. Valev winced. "W-''What?'' Okay, now that is out of context." He responded in horror, waving his hands frantically. A bead of worried sweat crawled down his face. "Just... trust me on this one. After all, it seems we are outnumbered four-to-one." "I said no, Val- Outnumbered?" The air parted with a sudden swerve as the grasses parted like a vast sea, predators eyeing the secluded group from all sides with a lifeless stare, saliva dripping down their hungry, crusted green lips, lapping at the air as they lusted for armories and coffers and meats of the trembling party surrounded from all sides. Hands gripped the crude wooden weapons with such force that splinters pierced the skin, drip-drops of ignited white blood falling from their shambling forms. These creatures were otherworldly and esoteric, having only recently felt the soft touch of reality, their very presence rejecting all that was existence. Terrifying, with their dried, husky skin only a lightbulb to the raging flames within, covered in scars from when they drew their claws across their goblin-like shell so harshly that clumps of cadaver flesh got caught under their murderous nails. These very claws wrapped around alit swords and clubs, weapons of brutality. And they had only one target. "Creatures of the void! Get in position!" Naguib shouted out with sweat falling down his face. Shit! He was so distracted he had let these creatures sneak up on him. This was all his fault, and now he needed to get out of it, less they all fall to the lapping white flames. His muscles tensed for a moment as his grip around his sword faltered, yet relaxed. In combat, one needed to flow with the wind, strengthening only after each and every last strike. The pattering of feet rang out in his ears as he, without even looking, saw Durk and Ambra perform an encircling movement around Will, their healer. A defensive formation, and one that would serve them well. What really got to Naguib, though, was Valev. While not happy nor apathetic, Valev wasn't nearly as bothered as the rest of them. He had seen these dangerous creatures of the void sneak up on them, yet still stood outside of the circle, as if confused. It wouldn't be long unti he got his answer, though. "...Er, guys? They are just..." A bolt of realization struck Valev with a flash in his mind. "Right! Right. You guys aren't travellers like me!" Gazes were shot at him as the monstrous, spectral abominations snuck closer to his human form, wanting to devour his soul and body. "Valev! Get over here!" Durk shouted as he opened up a small gap in their lines for Valev for only a moment. Will's heart began to race as the creatures closed in on him. There was an entire circle of them now, all focused on the undefended Valev. If the flames spread too much, they could lose all their supplies. Will was the only one on the team who could dispel these bonfires that defied any and all laws of physics. "Look, they're harmless! Just watch... C'mon, over here buddy... That's right, let me just pet you right on your- GOD MY ARM, IT HURTS-" “...Fool.” Durk muttered as he witnessed Valev flail like a kid, his arm stuck inside a goblin of the void. “Let’s get outta ‘er. He’s already dead.” “No, just wait.” The young Will pointed out, a smirk spreading across his face as if hiding a little secret he had just picked up on, all the others around him none the wiser. Ambra’s confusion turned into a response first. “Will, the man is beyond dead, what do you expect us to do?” A glint of determination and anger flashed in Valev’s eyes as he glared down at his consumed arm, the white flames dancing up it. “Why, you!” A sudden blade materialized in his hand, instantly plunged down and through the mystic goblin’s otherworldly skull. Wisps of flames spurt from it’s head as it died in seconds. The embers of white continued to spread across the furious Valev, crawling up and towards his shoulder as Valev uncaringly made a lightning fast dash to the goblins around him. No, he wasn’t just fast; it was simultaneous. As if not a blimp of time passed at all, the eight halves of four spectrals evaporating into the floor of the forest at the exact same time. All that was left was the scrunched, enraged face of Valev. “I’ve seen enough.” Naguib responded, as perplexed as the rest of them. ”ATTACK!” Category:Blog posts Category:Stories Category:Short Stories Category:The Infinite Consortium